#update

Hi friends!

What a sad month its been, huh? The world seems to only get worse as time goes on. Wildfires raging across North America, war continuing for no real reason. On top of that, some amazing individuals, Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Hayden Panettiere have all left the earth. Doesn’t exactly feel like a time for celebration, yet we are still here. Hope everyone has had a good month personally speaking. Here’s what I’ve been up to, anyway.

Upcoming ProjectsI’ve been talking about a couple of different projects over the last few months, the independent release of my first ever chapbook and the start of Ashes and Mirrors in Tall Grass. Both of these I’ve been working on simultaneously over the course of this year. However, during this year I’ve dealt with some employment struggles and have also been planning on moving for the first time ever. Suffice to say, It has been difficult at times to focus on and keep a consistent writing schedule. This is not a cancellation of either, I do still plan on making these things a reality. However, in order to settle into a new day job and have time to get adjusted, they will likely be pushed back end of this year at the earliest.

For the chapbook specifically, there are still a number of housekeeping things that need to get done. Recruiting my artists friend to draw and design the book cover, paying for and setting up an ISBN, finalizing my decision on which platform I’ll be using for the self-publish, etc. All things that cost time and money, which I currently don’t have a ton of.

August 2026 Blog PostsHere’s what went up on the website this month

Responding to the Multiverse – Sublime Epiphanyhttps://vsvirsus.com/2026/08/04/responding-to-the-multiverse-sublime-epiphany/

Poems That Have Made Me Rethink Myselfhttps://vsvirsus.com/2026/08/21/poems-that-have-made-me-rethink-myself/

GoalsThe stuff I want to accomplish. Also, I will be trying my best to make sure the stuff listed in this section isn’t too vague. These should be things that are tangible and can be worked towards. The tasks should be things that someone can actually accomplish or improve on within a timeframe of a month or two.

1. Get VS Virsus to the point it receives consistent traffic, even on days without new posts, short stories, poems, or whatever going up. Ideally, this would be at least at the same level as my other blog, Animated Observations, which is currently about 100-150 views a day. This is maybe a shallow way to measure development as a writer, but it would be nice to have people read the things I write. Progress: monthly average of 6 views per day. (+2 views on average)

2. Finish enough material for at least a few poetry chapbooks and/or a full collection, whichever comes first. Progress: ~46 finished pieces. (+2)

3. Submit consistently to at least 2-3 literary journals and/or writing competitions per month, be it poetry, fiction, or otherwise. Previously the goal was 4-5 month, but that always felt a bit more ambitious than realistic. Progress: 3 submitted this month. (+2 from last month)

4. Finish 1st drafts for the opening stories of Ashes and Mirrors in Tall Grass. Currently not as high priority since there are some things being reconsidered about the story. Progress: ~70% done, but also decided to move in a different direction. (+0%).

Thanks for reading!

If you like what you’ve seen on this post and want to see more, well then I certainly won’t stop you from clicking around and checking out some other stuff I’ve written. Those who are looking for a good place to talk about anime, manga, and other nerdy things should check out Animated Observations, where I do exactly that. Those who feel inclined to support financially can do so on Kofi or Patreon down below.

Kofi

Patreon

http://animatedobservations.com

Thank you for these lovely people for their ongoing support on Patreon:

Travis

Jenn

Karena

Bye for now 😉